Famed Pastor Predicts Imminent Catastrophe

I was at one point in my life a Drug and Alcohol Councilor. I had quit drugs through a program related to this person. His work led to another program
that was adopted by the group who helped me. They put me through an intensive in-patient treatment program. Then they trained me under the supervision
of a Clinical Psychologist and got me licensed.

Not only did they never ask for a dime, they gave me a job and a place to live while I returned to school for a while to get a Business Degree.

I'm a bit worried about reaching retirement under these circumstances. I don't suppose I'll get to retire as it is now. In fact I'm having to lay
one or two people off and I'll have to increase my duties along with everyone else. I'd just got used to the pleasures of reaching the point all I
did is manage.

Originally posted by Blaine91555
I had quit drugs through a program related to this person.

That's incredible.

Are you by any chance referring to Teen Challenge? I just did some research on him and noticed he was the one who started that program. I've
heard nothing but good things about that program and my own stepson went through one of their programs recently and came out completely clean. It came
recommended highly to us.

By that and a few other things I've found on him, he seems to have a very honorable reputation. But this thread is the first I've ever heard of him
personally. Sounds like a good man and not one who is out for fame and fortune.

I was not in a Teen program as I was far older than that. It was used for a model for another program started by one of his people for adults. The
group who helped me out used the same model for their program. It was free to anyone, Christian or otherwise and had a wonderful success rate.

I gave them a year and half of my life and then I had to move on to jobs with pay. Had I the means, I'd still be there.

The program was in a big way supported by those who they had helped. Many of us went on to start businesses and have good lives.

There is a Bible verse that says "I will send fire down upon those who dwell securely in the coastlands". I remember the verse from Hal Lindsay's
The Late Great Planet Earth mentioned that verse in relation to the fate of the United States of America.

I'm a bit worried about reaching retirement under these circumstances. I don't suppose I'll get to retire as it is now. In fact I'm having to lay
one or two people off and I'll have to increase my duties along with everyone else. I'd just got used to the pleasures of reaching the point all I
did is manage.

I recently retired, before this financial crisis hit. I'm now very concerned that my wife and I won't have enough to make it. My 403B plan is now a
103B plan, and our medical insurance has gone up to almost $1,200 per month this year. When I retired, it was $420 a month, last year it was $815 a
month. (That is with prior employer subsidies to boot- those numbers are just what I pay). Our real worry now is the threat of hyperinflation. My
retirement pay is fixed, with no COLA's at all.
In addition, although we are paying $4,000 federal income tax a year on my retirement that I collect from my pre-professorial days, since it is not
considered "earned income", we aren't eligible for the $400 tax credit or $800 per couple. Obama has reneged on his promise to exempt seniors from
income tax, if they make less than $50,000 a year. It is his first official "broken promise", although, since I didn't vote for him anyone, I
can't really say much.

Ash I know I'm a little late here, but allow me to elaborate on the whole "If he's right he's a hero, if he's wrong he's responsible"
thing.

If he is wrong, no harm no foul in my opinion. Sometimes people have intuitions or feelings and they want to share. I can dig it. But if people act on
his warning, and act in a way counter-productive to the people around him, then he is PARTIALLY responsible. The people who acted the way they did are
responsible for their actions, but the guy falsely predicting doom and gloom shares some of the blame as well, especially if you're well-known and
respected. You have followers, people who take your word as God's word manifest. You have to be careful.

Now if he is right, he might be a hero to anyone who acted specifically on his advice, but that's about as far as it goes. By that logic, Alex Jones
could be a hero, David Icke could be a hero, any number of people could be heroes by virtue of simply looking at the way things are going and saying
be prepared for some nasty stuff.

Personally I take all predictions with a grain of salt, especially predictions based off religious beliefs. I especially love when people make
predictions, get proven wrong then, "recalculate" and come up with a new prediction, that usually is wrong as well. The only prophecy I believe in
is self-fulfilling prophecy. And that is what scares me. There are more tahn enough crazy people in the world that are hell bent( pun definately
intended) on making sure their beloved prophecies come true. How convenient that 90% of their prophecies are easily accomplished by the means of
men.

The last 10% though? Good luck with that disappearing Christian thing!

But my question is addressed to someone who claims he should be held responsible if he is accurate.

The rest of my post was implying that I've heard of people saying hold those accountable who are wrong or to praise those who are right and label
them heroes. But the other member's post saying to hold him responsible if he is accurate surprised me so I was asking about that
perspective.

That is what I was getting at. Not that he should be held responsible if wrong or should be carried on the shoulders of the public if he
is correct. I was only curious about him being held responsible for being correct as I've never heard that before and wondered why the other poster
would believe that.

Edit to add: As an example, let's say I have a dream a week before of a tornado coming and ravaging the town. I warn the town people to find a secure
location and collect two weeks worth of food and water. I could understand someone being pretty upset with me for being wrong if nothing happens and I
could understand the gratitude of the stockpilers if it comes true. But I would not understand someone wanting to hold me responsible when I was
accurate and helped people.

I guess that poster was possibly implying he should be held responsible if he is correct, because people may have felt compelled to act in a way
that would help fulfill the prediction. While I have no doubt that some people would do just that, it would be very difficult to ascertain that that
was the pastors intention, short of the man clearly saying "This is God's will and it is your duty to be a instrument of this prediction". He could
possibly be betting that people would infer this mandate, but now we're just spinning way off into Baseless Speculation Land.

The bottom line for me is; I think alot of people around the world have a feeling in their gut that change is a'comin. If hearing a pastor say these
types of things reinforces your feelings, hopefully it will inspire you to do something proactive and productive. For me, it just provides another
example of the kind of mentality that helped get us into the situation we're in.

This morning I heard someone on the news, not sure which as I was in a different room, suggesting Obama was purposefully destroying what is left so he
can rebuild America in his own image. Shades of Hitler, eh?

No manufacturing jobs in the Stimulus Bill. What jobs there are, are tax payer funded or new governmental jobs. Taxes on Capital. Raising taxes on
those who create the new jobs. Eliminating tax breaks that keep businesses from moving out of the country. Enlarging government and now an Omnibus
Bill that increases our budget in the middle of all of this. ?????????????????????

It is not quite as bad as the early 80's yet, but we are well on the way. Problem is that the person we need to help bring us out of it, has gone the
opposite direction from what worked that time. I've never heard so much false logic in play.

What kind of merciful God is going to bring judgement on us now? This nation is in dire straights, if there is a God he should be helping out, not
creating some calamity. There are probably millions across this nation praying, but this pastor says God is going to ignore those cries for help
because us nasty sinners need a terrible calamity...

Just another prediction for the weak minds to soak up, nothing new...

You know I am really tired of this if God is so merciful why would he do this or why would he allow this or that to happen. God has given us free will
to do as we please and also has given us a set of rules to follow. If we choose to ignore the rules and continue to blaspheme his laws then we should
suffer the consequences. It's just as you would punish your children for not listening to your parents. It is designed to teach us to make us better
people.

It's no wonder God is ticked of at us. All you need to do is read the news and see for yourselves.

Look around ATS it's all over the place here as well. We have people running around spewing their New age stuff citing "man is God" "do what feels
good" and in the meantime we are destroying ourselves by listening to the lies of Satan.

We here on ATS talk about conspiracies in the government, UFO's, The elite that control the world, to name just a few. I think we all need to open
our eyes and see how this is all related. Whether you believe in God or not the evidence of his existence is everywhere as well as the evidence of
evil. We as a people allow ourselves to be corrupted by the evil and choose not to follow God. Satan is the master of deciet and the world has been
decieved.

Originally posted by Angus123
I was raised in a fundamentalist christian family, and I've been hearing about the coming catastrophes for as long as I can remember.

There are groups of people that want the end of the world so badly they can taste it.
People are willing to believe in someone they think gets messages from God. Then they kill themselves en masse, or sell everything they own and go out
to a hilltop and wait for God to rapture them. And get very tired of waiting because it doesn't happen. And then the pastor "reworks" his prophecy
or math or whatever and discovers his mistake about the date and it starts over.

Yes... things in the world are bad and getting worse.
But as soon as I hear one of these predictions from a "Pastor" I just yawn.

This is the problem with predictions. Man has been making them forever. In the meantime it becomes like the boy that cried wolf.

The bible clearly states that no man will know the time. The bible also teaches many other things in relation to how we are supposed to live our
lives. If we had the guts to follow this advice America wouldn't be in the trouble that it is now. We have been taught to follow the American dream
and have been taught that it's ok to get yourself into debt to pay for it.

God has taught us to be prepared. His word emphasizes a debt free life, being prepared for hard times, etc etc. But we choose not to listen it's more
important that we put ourselves into debt for selfish reasons and to compete with the Jones's and we end up screwing ourselves in the long run. Face
it everyone on these boards knows that we are sheeple or slaves to the system. We are slaves’ because we failed to follow his word and advice.

So when we hear someone say the end is near we should not turn a deaf ear because so many have been wrong before. We need to use our own intelligence
and look for the signs that have been prophesized about. The bible clearly talks about false prophets in the end as well as those sent from him. We
need our own spiritual discernment to be able to see the real from the fake.

I for one am not worried about it. Will the end come? I believe it will as it has been foretold. Will it come tomorrow or next week? I don't know,
only God knows when. Will I be raptured before TSHTF? I don't know that either there are arguments for both sides on that issue. What I do know is
that I will keep my heart and soul clean and do the best I can to live by his word. I will also do everything I can to avoid the deceptions of this
world as to not get caught up into what is not of God.

Famed Pastor Predicts Imminent Catastrophe

A respected pastor, best-selling author and founder of a major ministry to teens predicts an imminent "an earth-shattering calamity"
centered in New York City that will spread to major urban areas across the country and around the world – part of what he sees as a judgment from
God.

David Wilkerson, author of "The Cross and the Switchblade," a book about his ministry to troubled New York street kids that was later made into a
movie starring Pat Boone, tells readers of his blog this weekend that he is "compelled by the Holy Spirit to send out an urgent message" about his
prediction.

"An earth-shattering calamity is about to happen," he writes. "It is going to be so frightening, we are all going to tremble – even the godliest
among us."

(visit the link for the full news article)

Just another guy with another imminent prophecy of doom.
This happens about once a week here.
No big deal. Bunch of crap

Sorry if I came off as attacking him, I don't think what I said was really at all a personal attack against him. I've got nothing against him
personally; I am very skeptical of anyone making predictions, particularly those who claim to get them from "God".

Sure riots can take place but just because someone said they would happen doesn't mean they knew it was going to. It doesn't take a genius to
realize the world is in a tough place right now and that there's a good chance it will get worse before it gets better.

Maybe this guy is trying to help by warning us, but if this calamity is God's Will than there is no stopping it so why warn us to begin with? It just
doesn't make one bit of sense. Seems like any darkness on the horizon would come from human beings, not a merciful or good God.

Originally posted by photobugweek? Will I be raptured before TSHTF? I don't know that either there are arguments for both sides on
that issue. What I do know is that I will keep my heart and soul clean and do the best I can to live by his word. I will also do everything I can to
avoid the deceptions of this world as to not get caught up into what is not of God.

So using acronyms like TSHTF isn't getting caught up in the world. Is TSHTF of GOD? We know what TSHTF means and so does GOD.

People make predictions all the time. You are free to believe them, or ignore them. You can even make your own predictions, which many posters seem to
do each day on ATS. There are thousands of threads on 2012, Nibiru, end of the world, etc. Personally, I don't participate in those threads, because
I don't put any credence in them. However, they are free to post them, as long as they don't violate the T & C.
The bill of rights assure EVERY American citizen the freedom of speech, as well as religion. Again, why should a pastor or priest or rabbi or imam be
denied that right, if economists have the right to predict the future?

Care must be taken to NEVER take away that right from any citizen, regardless of how much you disagree with that person.

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